Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 8

Devanagari script

पक्षवृद्धिकरीं प्राप्य ये प्रकुर्वंति जागरम् । निमिषार्द्धार्द्धमात्रेण गवां कोटिफलप्रदम्

Transliteration

pakṣavṛddhikarīṃ prāpya ye prakurvaṃti jāgaram | nimiṣārddhārddhamātreṇa gavāṃ koṭiphalapradam

Translation

Wer, wenn eine pakṣavṛddhi-bewirkende Tithi eintritt, die Nachtwache (jāgara) hält—selbst nur für ein Viertel eines Augenblicks—erlangt Verdienst, das die Frucht der Gabe eines Krore Kühe gewährt.

Word by Word

• पक्षवृद्धिकरीम्: (the tithi) causing fortnight-increase
• पक्षवृद्धिकरीम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पक्षवृद्धि + करिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन; उपपद-तत्पुरुषः (one that causes pakṣavṛddhi)

• प्राप्य: having reached
• प्राप्य: Kriya-visheṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्राप् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), अव्ययभाव; ‘having attained’

• ये: those who
• ये: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, बहुवचन; सम्बन्धक

• प्रकुर्वन्ति: perform
• प्रकुर्वन्ति: Kriya (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + कृ (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार, प्रथम-पुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• जागरम्: vigil
• जागरम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जागर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• निमिषार्द्धार्द्धमात्रेण: by (just) a quarter-moment
• निमिषार्द्धार्द्धमात्रेण: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: निमिष + अर्ध + अर्ध + मात्रा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन; बहु-तत्पुरुषः (by the measure of half of half a moment)

• गवाम्: of cows
• गवाम्: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गो (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति, बहुवचन

• कोटिफलप्रदम्: granting the fruit of ten million (cows)
• कोटिफलप्रदम्: Karta (Subject complement)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कोटि + फल + प्रद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति, एकवचन; ‘(तत् पुण्यम्)’ इत्यर्थे फल-विशेषणम्

Speaker

Narrator (contextual; speaker not explicit in this verse)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Devotees in Dvārakā keep a night vigil during a rare pakṣavṛddhi tithi; even a brief wakeful moment is shown as radiating immense merit, symbolized by a celestial shower of cow-gifts or golden cows.

Characters & Entities

• Pakṣavṛddhi
• jāgaraṇa
• go-dāna (cow-gift)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Even minimal but sincere observance, when aligned with auspicious time, is magnified into vast spiritual merit.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The verse is about sacred time; the chapter context is Dvārakā Māhātmya.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Keeping vigil (jāgaraṇa) during a pakṣavṛddhi-related occurrence, even for an extremely short duration.